Like Cola 500 Gant Beats Adversity, Yarborough

July 23, 1984|by TED MEIXELL, The Morning Call

The Winston Cup record book will show that Harry Gant defeated Cale Yarborough by a couple of car lengths yesterday to pocket first money ($34,605) in the Like Cola 500 at Pocono International Raceway.

What the book won't show is the adversity the popular 44-year-old Taylorsville, N.C., native overcame to convince even the most skeptical witnesses that his Hal Needham-Burt Reynolds-owned, Travis Carter-prepped 1984 Monte Carolo was, indeed, the dominant machine on the track yesterday.

Consider:

-As Gant, leading the race, finished his 117th lap, he pitted under the green for fuel and right side rubber. Carter and Co. got him back on the track quickly enough to maintain a lead of about 20 yards over Yarborough, who had pitted six laps earlier.

Unfortunately, Gant had run over the jack with his right rear tire as he left the pits, something the NASCAR officials consider a no-no. So they black flagged him into the pits on lap 119 for what is termed a "Stop-and-Go Penalty." By the time Harry stopped - and went - he was in fifth place, 14 seconds behind Yarborough.

"On that one," he drawled, "the handle came off the jack as the jack man went to pull it out from under the car, and I ran over it. I had to come in for a stop-and-start and then go to the back of the lead pack."

The jack man (Charlie McKay), however, had a different explanation. "I messed up," was his succinct reply.

But the Skoal Bandit was still running as if it were riding rails. And, within 23 laps, Gant had gone by Joe Ruttman, Terry Labonte and polesitter Bill Elliott into second place, about 10 seconds behind Yarborough, winner of the June Van Scoy Diamond Mine race here.

On lap 151, Connie Saylor's Pontiac lost its engine through turn one to bring out the seventh of a track record nine (for a non-record 41 laps) caution flags. When all the leaders pitted, the Carter crew once again came through in fine style, sending Gant out ahead of Yarborough and into the lead.

-The next caution, brought about when Greg Sacks introduced his Monte Carlo to the wall in turn three on lap 165, also brought about Gant's next dilemma.

He took on fuel and right side tires, but the new set of tires wasn't feeling right. "I think I was able to get past Ruttman (when the race went green)," he said, "but the car wasn't handling as well. I told Travis (by radio), 'These tires don't feel so good. So, when the caution came out again four laps later, I came in to change them again."

-Coming in 'a little hot,' Gant accidently ran into a crewman (Jeffrey Ellis), carrying the tires for the right side. "He dropped them," explained Gant, "and they rolled away, so we didn't have the right tires to put on that side.

"So we had to go out and go around a couple times and come back in to change them again."

Consequently, Gant wound up at the very back of the pack of cars running in the lead lap - and, when Harold Kinder waved the green for the 10th and final time with 24 laps to go, he had at least seven cars to pass and a passel of ground to make up before he could even think about working on Mr. Yarborough.

By this time, the crowd of about 50,000 had conceded the race to Yarborough.

But Gant had other ideas. In three laps he past Ruttman into fifth; he dusted off Neil Bonnett the next time around for fourth, and, on lap 184, he swept to the inside three wide down the main straight to breeze past Labonte, Elliott and Yarborough for the lead he wasn't about to relinquish again.

"Yeah," Gant said, "I pretty much felt like I had everyone covered. I was really surprised at how well the car handled right from thestart. I was able to go to the lead easily, without really pushing too hard.

"Travis made some chassis adjustments earlier in the day, and they sure turned out for the better. What we did was try to predict the weather (conditions), and it worked out well. Plus, I think we had the strongest motor with respect to the rest of the field that we've had all year."

The final laps turned into a three-car banzai run, with Gant leading Yarborough and Elliott, in that order. And that's the way it stayed right to the finish, although Elliott gave Yarborough and the crowd a thrill by ducking low off the final turn of the last lap and coming within the length of Cale's hood of swiping second place.

Labonte wound up fourth, with Benny Parsons and Rusty Wallace, fifth and sixth, respectively, the only other cars on the lead lap. Bonnett fell by the wayside with rear end problems while running fifth on lap 182 and Ruttman's Monte Carlo spit out the bit as he was riding fourth just four laps from the end.

"I knew Elliott was gonna give Cale problems," Gant said. "That's why I wanted to go to the front as quick as possible. Here at Pocono, in a three-car shootout, the lead is by far the best place to be.

"I didn't think one car could pass me, but, if I'd been second, I don't know if I could've gotten past either of them, either. I wanted to lead."